My aspirationally weekly, realistically more like monthly email of books and enthusiasms will keep your #tbr full and make sure you know what's next.
I’ve got about 1/2 an hour this morning before I go relieve Rob at TMO (Wyatt’s pre-preschool, where somebody has to be the parent volunteer). He’s #3 to go through it, and we–along with the five other families in the class with #3–finally figured out (or maybe that should be I finally figured out) that if you split the morning it’s actually kind of fun. Anyway, I popped in for my treat of the week: one Lou’s chocolate cruller. It […]
Read MoreA few days ago I found Rob noodling around on the Internet (what did we do with ourselves ten years ago?) looking at, of all things, artificial ice. We’d been talking, looking at pictures of Rebecca, telling the usual end-of-the-day stories…him talking about how funny Wyatt was during tooth brushing, me describing the day’s drop off and pick up adventures. And now he was looking at…ice. As in, synthetic hockey rinks. Really. Who knew? There were pictures–a big ole suburban […]
Read MoreThere has been a lot of discussion in our household lately about the history of the two major religions that intersect here. Twice a year, sometimes three times, these things come up more often than they usually do. There was a time when there was some acrimony, with Rob blaming me for the ubiquity of Christmas and me demanding, shrieking even, to know why Sephardic Jews can eat rice during Passover but Ashkenazi Jews cannot, thus leaving us with 10 […]
Read MoreTonight Sam and Lily were back in Mandarin class. Rob drew the short straw, so he came home with grumpy Wyatt to put him to bed (I can tell he’s peeved, because he’s on the upstairs computer, not the downstairs), while me and my laptop hung out at the Dartmouth arts building (nice view of the green, comfy chairs, excellent wireless). As I lingered, responding to email, syncing calendars, etc., a student came in to practice on the grand piano. […]
Read MoreI got an impulsive email from Guoji Familia this morning–she, Cupcake, Spark and her #2 son were heading our way! We met up at the Montshire, and hung for the morning. It was great to meet up “IRL”, but I’m finding the whole thing inspires me to talk in what I think of as “blogher” talk…lots of exclamation points and references to the ‘net. We had a good time, and bonded over plenty–adoption, of course, kids the same ages, yadda. […]
Read MoreThere has been some recent discussion in the Beyond Nuclear household about how our children do not do enough for themselves. When Sam asked for a hot drink after dinner tonight (because it’s April in New Hampshire), it seemed like the perfect opportunity. He is a responsible child, and permitted to use, on occasion, sharp knives. I will show you how to make yourself some tea, I said. I put the tea kettle on to boil and showed him where […]
Read MoreMy Postal Pickup, originally uploaded by kjda. So you have to picture me, at the post office, mailing my one little package (Rebecca’s book) and handing over my pick up slip. And then he said…I’ll get the handtruck. What is it? One comforter, two fans and a few assorted items of clothing. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read MoreRebecca!, originally uploaded by kjda. Here she is! And in yet another amazing coincidence–Lily owns that sweater. It’s an Oshkosh B’Gosh by way of Target, but it’s unmistakeable. We got an update tonight, and the word is that yes–I did, via googling and link following and Yahoo Groups, find our little needle in the big ‘Net haystack. I’m thinking I should have bought a lottery ticket, too! More importantly, she’s on track in every way, and we know it. We’ve […]
Read MoreWhat a Bad Mother Eats for Lunch, originally uploaded by kjda. Can you see the telltale Easter Egg dye on the sides? In my defense–my totally excellent babysitter was inspired to dye Easter Eggs with the kids Saturday. On the plus side: Now I don’t have to do it! On the well this is kind of a benefit side: a fridge FULL of hard-boiled eggs. The good kind, the kind that come from a local farm. Three dozen of ’em, […]
Read MoreIt’s really late. I should not open my new MacBook Air. I have opened the outer ox. Now I am taking out the inner handled box. It is small, but rather heavy. There better be something else in here, like a book. Which seems unlikely. Am I having remorse already? There is a book. A smallish one, but it accounts for some of the weight. And two mysterious power cords. Perhaps I should read the book. But this is a […]
Read More"Jumbo" Rice Krispie Treats, originally uploaded by kjda. As in, Rice Krispie Treats (yum!) made from new “jumbo” rice krispies–more fiber! Whole grains! The minute I opened the box I had my doubts. Tasted one, and doubted even more. So I mixed them–half and half–and still. So not worth it. A belated look at the ingredients reveals that Rice Krispies contain: Rice. Malt. Maybe one other thing. The Jumbos–a huge list of all kinds of crap. They taste something like […]
Read MoreSpring at Duke, originally uploaded by kjda. And at home, not soon enough! Don’t you LOVE this time of year? KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read MoreI just figured out why so many people couldn’t get to my blog recently–I reconfigured it so that the address is https://kjdellantonia.com rather than www.kjdellantonia.com. I didn’t realize I was doing it. But I think I will leave it that way. A look around at other people’s sites reveals that the www appears to be out of date. Most sites redirect. I’ll have to work on that. Ooh, a project! Just what I need.
Read MoreWell, I’m traveling. With my puny old laptop (which has actually served me very well for many years)… And the blog is looking kinda busted, and I don’t have all of the various codes and backups with me, so the best I can do is pop this old site up for the time being. Makes you want chocolate, doesn’t it? Meanwhile, here we are in North Carolina. Just the two of us. It’s very relaxing. Honestly, the plane ride was […]
Read MoreUnder the last patch of melting snow.. Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read MoreThose two things don’t really go together, do they? Or maybe they do. Perhaps Erik Reece, an author whose new book: An American Gospel I know I’m going to enjoy, also, when he isn’t exploraring the relationships among history, the gospel and environmentalism, likes to get in a good CSS coding session. I heard Reece on NPR this morning–this is a book that’s going to really play into some of the issues that have been percolating in my life and […]
Read MoreYou Wan lives in a foster home in China–and I found her. As in, I found the foster home, online. I found pictures of her. I found out more about her than I ever thought I’d know at all, let alone before we went to China to get her. Chalk it up to the magic of Google. Wan’s file has been in China since 2007, when someone, somewhere, declared her ready for adoption. The latest information we had dated back […]
Read MoreYou Wan Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone Here she is! Some know, and plenty don’t, that we’ve been working on adopting a little girl from China since February of 2008. (Details? look here). If there are extreme adventures in parenting, this has to be one of them. Because this is Number four, right here. Don’t be fooled by appearances–she’s three years old. This is an old picture, and we’re waiting, now, for an “update”–which could […]
Read MoreBest Playdate Ever Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read MoreDogs in the Snow Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreWhat we really did today… Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreLest you think we did not use the batman mask… Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreSnow angels Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreAll dressed and ready to go Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreWyatt licks sugar off the counter Originally uploaded by kjda. Sam is home sick. It’s 4:00, and I am just…tired of being in charge. Since I intend to end the day with a full on TV binge, it’s a little early to start. And so things slowly deteriorate…
Read MoreThis sick day may be too much fun… Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreSnow day morning Originally uploaded by kjda. There was a mars mission spaceship, but Sam didn’t think it looked good in the picture. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreGrace in action Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreGrace in action Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreAprès ski nap Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreWyatt skis Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreSnowshoeing Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreWhen you run out of strawberries… Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreTeeniest rink ever. Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreWyatt and Zach Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreGood Morning New Hampshire Originally uploaded by kjda. Downtown… KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreGood Morning New Hampshire Originally uploaded by kjda. At our house. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreDeceptively simple Originally uploaded by kjda. Thank you, Martha Stewart. This looked easy… And it wasn’t exactly hard, but I wouldn’t call it easy, either! KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreSpider eats damsel Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreBecause we are all about healthy lunches here. Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MoreBuilding towers at Lou’s Originally uploaded by kjda. KJ Dell’Antonia
Read MorePumpkin carving! Originally uploaded by kjda. Lily carved the whole face of two little pumpkins slowly, stubbornedly, determinedly (clearly I went to Lolly Lolly for my adverbs today!) with her little green pumpkin saw. Wyatt at least sat and tried to take the insides out of his, and we did the face together. Sam had a friend over and although they carved, he couldn’t focus, so we saved Some for the weekend.
Read MoreBet that got your attention! Not really snow, but flakes, this morning, and some sticking to the trees at the top of the mountain. The kids went outside, wearing light jackets, but insisting on hats and mittens–and danced around excitedly–never mind that the snow was about 1/10 of the rain that was falling. It’s Krypto’s first snow, Sam said. Krypto was just happy to be out with them. Sam played soccer for an hour today, in pretty cold weather, running […]
Read MoreMy fingers are crossed for you about the house. I mean, somebody has to sell houses…Somebody has to be credit-worthy, right? I am glad Dad enjoyed the tale of the flooded stove. That was just par for the course, really. It wasn’t even an unusual day. Today’s big highlight was the purchase of two new laundry baskets. We lost a laundry basket sometime last year. I do not see how tt is possible–no one does–but there it is, it is […]
Read MoreI was glad you liked the kids singing. They were so pleased with themselves. And Sam really liked playing his piano into the phone to you. I don’t think that had ever occurred to him before. It was almost like you were here! Rob got everyone into pajamas tonight by sheer force of personality, since he can’t really manhandle them. I find that as exhausting as just sitting on them and doing it myself. Having him able to do it […]
Read MoreI was a little bit venting and a little bit just trying to share a little more about my day when I wrote last night than I feel like I usually do. I kind of almost forgot that epistolary conversation is a two-way street! I didn’t get a response from Mom. Lily and I took a walk together today, during Sam’s soccer practice. I think she just needs a regular reminder that Sam’s needs don’t trump hers. Wyatt gets it […]
Read MoreHi– I’m feeling frustrated tonight–turned a piece in to a new editor and definitely did not hit the ball out of the park. It’s not that it needs revising–of course it needs revising, we’ve never worked together before–it’s that when I reread it, even I can see that it needs revising. I got so caught up in the word count that I seem to have taken out all of the content. Ugh. But I am a professional, and I will […]
Read MoreSam the Reader Originally uploaded by kjda. Hi mom! I am sitting at the library with Sam. He finished his homework in no time and has been reading for 35 minutes. Of course, the minute I wrote that he started humming. Still, pretty good for somebody who wouldn’t have read at all a month ago. He is out with me because tonight is the Nordic team ski sale, and he needs new skis. Since we have Holly tonight, he gets […]
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